Racist Speech Infiltrates Worcester City Council Meeting Again

WORCESTER, MA — The Tuesday Worcester City Council meeting was again targeted by bigots Tuesday night — the third such incident tied to a single hate group since January.

During the public comment portion of Tuesday's meeting, a speaker who falsely claimed to be Worcester journalist Bill Shaner went on an antisemitic rant, blaming Jewish people for the transatlantic slave trade. When Mayor Joseph Petty cut him off, the man blurted out a racial slur directed at Black people. Petty apologized to viewers after the outburst.

Tuesday's incident comes after Worcester councilors two weeks ago received postcards from a California-based hate group featuring antisemitic and anti-trans ramblings. During the Jan. 23 council meeting, several callers made racist and bigoted remarks during the public comment portion of the meeting.

The racism at the Jan. 23 meeting happened while At-Large Councilor and vice chair Khrystian King was leading the meeting — the first time a Black person led a council meeting in Worcester.

"We must intentionally root out all forms of systemic and socialized classism, racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia; through deliberate legislation, policy creation and implementation, funding, and governmental operation and procedures," King said in a news release in reaction to the bigoted mailers.

Shaner traced the people behind the postcards and racist calls to a group of neo-Nazis in California who call themselves the "City Council Death Squad." The group has made similar hateful calls and sent mailers to elected officials in Newburyport, Brookline and Portland, Maine.

Coincidentally, At-Large Councilor Moe Bergman had an order on Tuesday's council agenda seeking a review of security at City Hall. He cited the recent infiltrations of bigots as part of his remarks.

"We're at a totally different level of stress and anxiety," with security at City Hall, he said.